The idea of working from home was never something that I considered in the past. When I’m at home, and all of my friends can attest to this, I never sit still. I’ll sit for a bit and chat or watch the movie that we put on, but after a few minutes I’ll be up washing my dishes, throwing in a load of laundry, folding laundry or taking the garbage out. One thing I don’t do very well is sit still.

When we first discussed the idea of work-from-home days, I wasn’t fully on board. I wasn’t sure how productive I’d be if I were to work from home because I wouldn’t have the girls from the office around to help keep me focused. I was worried that I would get distracted too easily and that I wouldn’t get anything done.

What I’ve noticed since I started working from home is that I’m actually much more productive at home than when I’m in the office. I have zero distractions, except for when my two kitties want to cuddle while I’m in the middle of a phone call, I’m able to make calls and complete demos without fighting to focus through background noise or conversations, and I also find that I’m much more confident because there’s no one around to listen in when I’m having conversations with prospects.

If you’re thinking of trying out work-from-home days in your office, I encourage you to continue reading. Today I’ve decided to share some of the tactics that I use to make sure that I’m both productive and efficient on my work-from-home days:

1. Finish your chores ahead of time. Since I now work from home every Monday, I’ve devoted my Sunday evenings to “clean-up time”. Before going to bed I’ll make sure that my dishes are done, my floors are swept, the garbage is taken out if need be and that everything else is tidied up around my apartment. I also like to make sure that my work space is neat and dusted or else that will give me an excuse to get up and put my work aside! 

2. Make sure you bring everything home that you’ll need. One thing that I make sure to do every Friday afternoon before heading home for the weekend is load up my USB key with all of the necessary documentation that I’ll need to get through Monday. If I have demos on Monday, I make sure to print out all of the paperwork that I need, organize it, and pack it away in a folder to keep myself organized. Quite a bit changes here week-by-week, so I make sure to update my USB key weekly. That way I always have the most up-to-date documentation/paperwork while I’m working at home!

3. Get comfortable. What I love most about working from home (and I realize that not everyone works best this way) is getting into comfortable pyjamas, putting on my fuzziest slippers and wearing a hat because guess what? I don’t have to impress anyone with the way that I look on Mondays anymore! My favourite part about working from home is the fact that I get to do what I love in the comfort of my own home. I also find that when I’m comfortable I’m able to focus much better on whatever it is that I’m doing.

4. Outline a bit of a routine. Even though you’re doing the same work as when you’re in the office, it’s good to have a different routine when you’re at home. This works for me anyway. It helps keep me on track with everything that I need to get done and it helps keep my focused. Being in a different environment and switching things up also makes the week feel much shorter once I get back into the office on Tuesday morning!